I have make this recipe multiple times with incredibly successful results! It's unbelievably delicious! I have to say though, that having made it both with sherry and Grand Marnier, I find the Grand Marnier version of the berries much better. The citrus really brings out the flavor of the berries, but perhaps this is because I live in Alaska and don't always have access to the freshest berries.

LOVE this combo! The cake was great ... yes, cornbread like in texture, but it added to the "shortcake" feel of the dessert. The cream is TO.DIE.FOR ... I made a double batch, as some recommended, and spread the rest a week later (that would be today!) between chocolate wafer cookies, put another dollop on top along with a strawberry half ... pure heaven. And the sherried berries ... I was hesitant about those but they are WONDERFUL. The sherry is very subtle, and not identifiable as that. It just adds a touch of ... I don't know ... something special ... to the dessert. Not only would I make it again ... I WILL and often! My guests loved it too.

I've made this cake several times now and offer some suggestions. As written (and as shown in the photo), this recipe tries to be something it isn't. This is not a fine-grained cake that is suitable for stacking in layers. This is a simple, hearty cake. I think it's best just to serve it in one layer with a big dollop of the "filling" and a spoonful of the macerated berries. (Any powdered sugar you sprinkle on disappears, especially if you drizzle the cake with something.) Creme de cassis (which another reviewer mentioned) produces a much better flavor than dry sherry. Sometimes I've added lemon zest to the cake and other times to the mascarpone. Using creme de cassis, I haven't had to drizzle the cake with anything. This recipe is good, but needs some tweaking, as most Epicurious recipes do. As written, the recipe is a 3. With tweaking, it's a 4.

First off, I really love that this is a one-pan cake. The quantities are spot on. I did, however, make a couple changes. I doubled the mascarpone recipe so that I could dollop an additional portion on the top of each piece of cake. The mascarpone is the star of the show here. I also made a rum and lemon simple syrup to drizzle on the cut layers, which made the cake very moist and flavorful. I read a few reviews before making this cake and decided I definitely didn't want to have a dry lackluster cake. I also added the zest of a whole lemon to the cake batter as well as a 1/2 tsp of almond extract. Definitely a recipe you can doctor up to suit your palette!

Nice and easy cake to make. Excellent filling with mascarpone. I used blueberries and strawberries with dry red wine instead of Sheery, that was delicious.
Only thing was that the cake was a bit dry, I might baked it too long.
I would make more filling to serve on the side. It was really good that I wanted it on top of the cake too.

Excellent! The only modifications I made were to add the zest of 1.5 lemons to the cake batter, and the zest of half a lemon to the cream filling; and to use triple sec instead of sherry because it's what I had on hand. A lovely cake that received many compliments at the party!

I made this for my daughter - mind u I make something then adjust it to suit me always, this one I didn't adjust - I used bob's red mill flour as a friend told me to try that one as it isn't as dry. I used a spring form pan which did very well.
the only thing I might change is adding lemon extract as it goes well with the berries and I didn't top the cake - I sliced it then added the berries to each slice - I also put some of the cream in a decorators bag and did a design on the top as to make the cake look nice as I took it some where before serving. its also why i didn't top it with berries as I didn't want a soggy cake - once sliced it I could add as much of the topping or none as the guests wanted.
I am a bit of a food snob and tend to throw out something if not perfect and remake till it is. I rarely leave a recipe as I found it as my cook books will attest to!. I come from a long line of cooks and some things we make are old family ones passed only thru memory.

Everyone enjoyed this recipe, even those that aren't huge fans of cake. I didn't have a two inch deep cake pan, so I divided the batter between two pans and reduced the cooking time to about 25-30 minutes. I followed the recipe exactly, and it was delightful. I used only strawberries and it seemed like an elegant twist on a strawberry shortcake.